By Anthony Gorges
JC Post
The number three team in Class 6A, the Wichita Northwest Grizzlies, held on to defeat Junction City 31–21 on Friday night at Blue Jay Stadium.
The first half was a defensive battle, with both teams scoring a touchdown in the first quarter before heading into halftime tied at 7–7. Wichita Northwest struck first on a 38-yard touchdown run by senior running back Augie Fast. The Blue Jays answered with a 7-yard rushing touchdown by junior running back Aaron Woods.
The third quarter was similar to the first half. Junction City was unable to convert on the opening possession, and after Wichita Northwest muffed a punt, the Blue Jays again failed to capitalize, going three-and-out for the second time. Following a series of back-and-forth possessions, Wichita Northwest regained the lead, 10–7, on a 22-yard field goal.
As they did earlier, the Blue Jays responded with a scoring drive of their own. Senior quarterback Conrad Gomez connected with senior wide receiver Lovell Autry on a 16-yard touchdown pass, putting Junction City ahead 14–10 with 11:55 left in the game.
Northwest answered quickly with an 8-yard touchdown run by freshman Zy’air Burton. After the Blue Jays failed to move the ball on the ensuing possession and were forced to punt, the defense came up big. On the first play of the Grizzlies’ drive, Junction City forced a fumble, which senior J’Sean Green recovered (his second fumble recovery of the night.) Just two plays later, Gomez found tight end Ayden Martin for a 23-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Jays a 21–17 lead with under five minutes remaining.
But Wichita Northwest’s senior linebacker-turned-running back, John Michael Fountain, proved unstoppable down the stretch. He broke free for a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Grizzlies back in front. After Junction City went three-and-out, Fountain struck again, racing 57 yards for another touchdown to make it 31–21 and seal the win.
“Our guys played their tails off,” said Junction City head coach Randall Zimmerman. Speaking about Wichita Northwest, Zimmerman added, “That’s a very good football team.” He noted that his team had opportunities to win and played well enough to do so, but he was proud of their effort. “I am really proud of our kids, and they really laid it on the line tonight,” Zimmerman said. “This was two really good teams that played hard. We’ve got to have a good week of preparation, because our schedule is very tough with games against Manhattan and Hays coming up.”
With the loss, Junction City falls to 2–1 on the season, while Wichita Northwest improves to 3–0.
Next week, the Blue Jays travel to Manhattan. As always, you can hear JCHS games on 107.9 FM / 1420 AM KJCK Radio.
On the radio broadcast, defensive player Marcus Boganowski was named our Player of the Game, sponsored by Blu Restaurant in Junction City. (Each Player of the Game receives a coupon for a free meal from Blu.)
**Photos courtesy of Callie Jones